The Conspiracy

Definition

The Conspiracy guides the players through the process of incriminating their Conspirators in the Incident.

• With the facts of The Incident agreed, it's now time to establish the specific actions that each of The Conspirators took to orchestrate the arrest of The Knife.

• Each of The Conspirators has their own choice of prompts. These work a little differently from the other choices (such as The Choices) in the Playset. Players find their chosen Conspirator, and choose one of the two options to present to another player (usually the player sitting to their left).

• These choice prompts have a sentence describing the Conspirator's unique ability or access that provides an advantage in planning the scheme. Then they ask a question, answered by the other player, about the specifics of their involvement.

Intention

Each of The Conspirators will be incriminated to a lesser or greater extent by this process, but it is essential that each of them take an active, intentional role in the Conspiracy. None of them should be able to get away with making their characters innocent in this scheme, even if the degree of their involvement can be flexible across the cast.

The format of this section is also intended to build relationships between The Conspirators at the start of the game. Have characters ask favours and take advantage of each other, demonstrating their willingness to commit nefarious deeds out of greed, jealousy or fear.

You should be clear that these prompts are a starting point for discussion, and that players should continue talking over the details of the Conspiracy until they're all clear on the events that occurred and the roles their characters played.

Example – Introduction

Now it’s time to figure out how our Conspirators were involved and the sequence that led to the Knife’s arrest.

We’ll take turns choosing a prompt for our Conspirator.

It will establish a truth about their role and also provide a question that we should ask the player to our left. They answer as their Conspirator, weaving our plot together.

Continue discussing the conspiracy until we’ve each made our choice and we’re clear on the order of events.

Then, we should go back and make sure we've added everything important to the board and given them names.

Then we can begin drawing cards from Act I.

– The Count of Saint-Lazare Playset, Jack Harrison

Example – Conspirator Choice

THE ROLE OF GIRAUD-LABELLE

Your jealousy made you all-too willing. Choose one, ask left:

• You asked me to divulge something that Émile had told me in confidence. What vulnerability of theirs did I betray?

• You needed me to keep Émile busy while you moved against them. What heartfelt truth did they confide in me over dinner?

– The Count of Saint-Lazare Playset, Jack Harrison